#time

WATCH WHAT YOU WATCH // I faced a harsh reality the first Sunday morning of this month. I received a notification on my watch from my phone, and it was this:

I averaged 3 hours each day on my device that previous week! 1/8 of my day was on my phone. Let’s say I get 7 hours of sleep a day. That would mean I spent 18% of my waking day on my freakin’ phone! Take out 8 hours for work in a day. 1/3 of my time outside of work or sleep was dependent on my cell phone. That’s a problem!

My wife, Amy, and I enjoy taking our boys to playgrounds. Pretty much any playground we go to that has other kids, it’s sadly predictable what the parent is doing. Sitting on a bench looking at their cell phone.

I was recently at Culver’s for lunch with my family and decided to do something different when I was waiting in line: I chose to stay off my cell phone. While observing other people I noticed a dad with two high school aged kids. They were obviously dating. The entire time I was in line all three of them were on their cell phones. What’s the point in sitting down and eating together?!

My One Thing for September is reducing the time spent on my phone. I figured reducing by 30 minutes is a great goal, but it still means I spent 2 1/2 hours on my phone. That’s still too much, isn’t it?

GETTING STARTED // Here’s some tips that might help, if you want to join me in reducing screen time on cell phones:

Set time limits on your smart phone for social media, games, and other time-sucking apps.
Give your smart watch a break when you are with your family.
Leave your cell phone at home sometimes.
Some parents limit their children’s screen time – why not do it yourself?
Ditch the unlimited data on plan. There’s a good chance you’re paying for more than you need, plus there’s nothing encouraging you to limit yourself. For instance, if I had a tankless water heater, I would probably never get out of the shower.

Here’s my progress through the month:
9/4/22 3 hr 1 min
9/11/22 1 hr 43 min
9/18/22 2 hr 37 min
9/26/22 2 hr 30 min

I’ve for sure made progress, but would still like to get my screen time below 2 hours a day. What makes it difficult is that I use my phone for work, as well as listening to podcasts and audiobooks when I travel or exercise. The areas that I’ve really focused on limiting are the apps that suck me in to thoughtless viewing, such as social media and sports news. I don’t get into games on my phone, but I could see that taking a lot of time, as well.

Please comment below if you have found some good hacks to encourage limiting screen time on smart phones.

TO MY BOYS // “I’m so proud of you. I’m thankful every day that I get to be your dad! You are the very best parts of me. You are dearly loved by your mom and me. Now go out there and do your best.” – Dad

TIME // Time is the most finite resource we have on this earth. My dad, Gerry Wass, died when he was only sixty years old, just 6 days shy of his sixty-first birthday. His birthday was the day of his funeral. I recently turned 40 and couldn’t help by think, “What would my dad have done differently if he knew he only had 20 years left; that 2/3 of this life had already been spent?”

I don’t know the answer to that lonely question. I’m forever left just to speculate.

Here’s what I would speculate:

He would’ve quit his job and done something that he would’ve actually enjoyed for work.
In fact, he would’ve retired early, instead of working almost up until the day he died.
He wouldn’t have been so cheap. He proved that by whipping out his checkbook to buy a boat just a few years before he died. That was not very Gerry at all!
He wouldn’t have gotten so anxious about stuff that never happened or didn’t matter.
He would’ve spent every waking moment with the people he really cared about.
He would’ve written a letter to my sons, that he would never meet on this side of Heaven.

YOUR LIFE // The (morbid) reality is that any of us could get hit by a car tomorrow, have a heart attack, die from surgery complications, or get news from the Dr. that we have cancer, like my dad. Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

What’s amazing with this moment right now is that you are still alive. That is such a gift! Who knows how much longer you’ll be here? If you knew that you only had 5, 10, or 20 years left on this earth. What would you do different today? What’s keeping you from doing it?

GETTING STARTED // Have you taken time to think about what you want to do with your life? It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and then a blink turns into 5 years gone by. Sit down and take some time to map out what you would like your next 5 years to look like. Make some goals. Be intentional with those people in your life that you want to spend time with. Most of all, remember to spend your hours and days wisely. You will never get them back and you aren’t guaranteed any more.

Tag: #time

PUT YOUR FRICKIN’ PHONE DOWN!

SPENDING YOUR DAYS